The Alice Creek Fire was a wildfire north of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

in the

Lewis and Clark National Forest Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning , the forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with "islan ...

, located in

Lewis and Clark County Lewis and Clark County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 70,973. Its county seat is Helena, Montana, Helena, the state capital. The nume ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The fire, started by a lightning strike, was reported on July 22, 2017. The fire burned at least . The Alice Creek Fire crossed the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, impacting wildlife, specifically aquatic life, and threatened the Alice Creek Historic District.

Events

August

The Alice Fire was reported on July 22, 2017, at 6:37 PM, 16 miles northeast of

Lincoln, Montana Lincoln is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,013. History Meriwether Lewis passed through the area on his return to St. ...

. The cause for the fire was a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

strike. Upon its discovery, the fire had burned a mere The fire grew slowly and by August 6, it was already 10% contained at . Fire crews camped out near the fire due to its remote location, utilizing a helicopter for transportation. At this time, preventative measures were passed prohibiting fires (including campfires) outside of approved recreation areas and no smoking within 3 feet of vegetation. By August 24, the fire's containment dropped to 5% and it's acreage grew to , due to low humidity and a heat settlement in the area. Numerous trails were closed on this day, including parts of the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico a ...

. Hikers traveling along the trail were rerouted to

Montana Highway 200 Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) in the U.S. state of Montana is a route running east–west covering the entire state of Montana. From the starting point at ID 200, near Heron, the highway runs east to ND 200 near Fairview. It is part of a c ...

. On August 25, the fire had crossed the

. Due to extremely dry temperatures and gusty wind conditions, the fire spread to over by August 27. Mandatory evacuations were started for residents of the Elk Meadows subdivision and ranches west of Road 434/435 and north of Highway 200. A shelter was opened by the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

in Helena. At this time, fire crews launched actions to protect homes in the Elk Meadows/Evergreen subdivisions, seeking to keep the fire in the National Forest and protecting 13 homes and ranches. Processes also began to minimize impact on the Alice Creek Historic District and to prevent aquatic animals from being transported over the Continental Divide. At this time, the fire was at . On August 31, two

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

Chinook helicopter The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

s arrived on the scene of the fire to provide water delivery support to firefighters.

September

These helicopters would help contribute to the 5% containment that would be met by September 2. However, erratic behavior of the fire would force the evacuation of eight more homes in Elk Meadows. The fire remained at 5% containment, but had grown to , therefore the Forest expanded closures in the area. 2017 09 04-15

Alice Creek Basin and Tom's Gulch were evacuated on September 3. The Lewis & Clark County Sheriff issued mandatory evacuation orders for two more subdivisions on September 4: Landers Fork and Elk Trail. Highway 200 was reopened. On September 7, the fire spread into Tom's Gulch, Alice Creek and Telephone Gulch. Mandatory evacuations were put in place for 12 residents between Mile Marker 92 and Highway 434 along Highway 200 due to movement near the Elk Meadows/Evergreen subdivision. The next day, September 8, Highway 200 was re-opened to the public, however, 11 more residents were evacuated in the area. As of September 9, the Alice Creek Fire had burned and was at zero containment. Evacuation impacted approximately 90 individuals. Four structures, located on Bedrock Road, were destroyed in the fire. Fire crews continued to work to protect structures in subdivisions and in areas near Alice Creek Lake, Silver King Lake and along Highway 200. By the 11th, the fire had moved along Highway 200, on the west side. Two days of rain later in the week helped calm the fire. Firefighters focused on cleaning mud laden roads and to monitor containment lines. Evacuation orders were revoked for residents, with areas remaining closed for visitors.

Evacuations and closures

All areas in the

, north of Highway 200 in the Lincoln Ranger District, are closed. Road closures are in effect on these roads: Alice Creek Road, Copper Creek Road at the Landers Fork Road junction, and McDonough Road.

References

External links

* {{Montana wildfires 2017 Montana wildfires Lewis and Clark County, Montana